


Love Lives On

by ashyartemispotozuko



Category: Love Never Dies - Lloyd Webber, Phantom of the Opera - Lloyd Webber
Genre: Background information, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Light Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-27
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-11-05 11:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11012199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashyartemispotozuko/pseuds/ashyartemispotozuko
Summary: This is a fan fiction based purely off of the author’s imagination. It is in no way related to the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber nor does the author claim to have any rights to the characters or story or anything originally created by Andrew Lloyd Webber.This is a fan fiction based mainly off of the play written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, “Love Never Dies,” and partially off of the original play (and movie), “The Phantom of the Opera,” also written by Webber. “The Phantom of the Opera” takes place in Paris, France, in the year 1895. “Love Never Dies” takes place in on Coney Island in Manhattan, United States, in the year 1905. This fiction takes place ten years later and uses characters from both “Love Never Dies” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fan fiction based purely off of the author’s imagination. It is in no way related to the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber nor does the author claim to have any rights to the characters or story or anything originally created by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
> 
> This is a fan fiction based mainly off of the play written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, “Love Never Dies,” and partially off of the original play (and movie), “The Phantom of the Opera,” also written by Webber. “The Phantom of the Opera” takes place in Paris, France, in the year 1895. “Love Never Dies” takes place in on Coney Island in Manhattan, United States, in the year 1905. This fiction takes place ten years later and uses characters from both “Love Never Dies” and “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Part 1:

Coney Island, 1914  
9 years after Christine Daae’s death

Gustave hurried through the hustle and bustle of Phantasma. It was almost dark, and everyone was getting set up and ready to perform their nights tasks. As he hurried through the crowds, many men  
and women tipped their heads to him, or waved and called hello and good day. Gustave waved and said hello to everyone as he passed. Most were people that had known him for years, but some were  
strangers to him. He said hello to them just the same; just because he didn’t know them didn’t mean he’d never met them.

Gustave was very excited. He was distracted while making his way through the crowds, his thoughts racing a million miles a minute, not for a moment stopping to think about whom he was saying hello  
to. He had gotten the part. He was hurrying to tell his father and hear the praise he knew he would receive. This was the very first time that he would be able to sing at a theater not owned by his father, or  
that he was a benefactor of. His father owned plenty of concert halls and theaters, both on Coney Island and not.

He was proud because he had done this all on his own. He wasn’t performing at one of father’s theaters. He had signed up and auditioned and had done everything on his own and had still gotten the part  
he auditioned for, the part of Eochaidh in the opera, “The Immortal Hour”. He was very pleased with himself.

He turned the corner and came face to face with a large trick mirror. It made people appear different than they really looked. And only his father, Fleck, Squelch, Gangle, and him knew about the hidden  
door behind the mirror.

His fingers ran along the left edge of the mirror. He felt for the notch in the wood. His index finger felt it and he pressed into it, releasing the lever and activating the button to pop the mirror forward an  
inch. He grabbed the edge of the mirror and pulled, pulling the door open. He slipped inside and let it close behind himself. It was set on a timer to not stay open more than half a minute in case anyone  
tried sneaking in after one of them.

The mirror/door clicked closed and he descended the stairs quickly.

“Father!” he called out excitedly into the darkness.

The narrow stairwell was dimly lit with a few candles here and there. He got to the bottom landing and his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He immediately felt more comfortable. Like his father, he enjoyed  
the night.

“Father?” He called out. Gustave didn’t see him anywhere. Suddenly, a hand appeared on his shoulder. He spun quickly and chuckled, seeing the masked man behind himself.

“Gustave. I was worried you were someone else.” The taller man lied. He was wearing the mask, something he knew Gustave hated. He was making excuses.

Gustave smiled and stepped down from the landing into his father’s main room. He immediately took a seat on the piano stool and smiled up at him.

“Who else would I be?” He clicked his tongue at his father, showing he knew he was lying. “And please take off the mask, father.” He smiled at the Phantom. Gustave wanted to have a talk with his father  
face to face, not have him hiding as he did from everyone else, as he liked to. Plus, Gustave preferred his father without the mask. It was just ridiculous.

He watched his father as he slowly took off the mask and set it on the piano. His father smiled gently at him, abashed at having lied to his son and been trying to hide. He looked down at his protege.

“How was the audition?” The unmasked man asked Gustave.

He smiled widely at his father and exclaimed, “I did it! I got the part! I got the part of Eochaidh! I am so happy father! Are you proud? I did not even need your help to get it. They chose me purely off of  
talent!”

He watched his father’s face turn from a plain expression into what resembled a grin on his distorted face. “That’s great, my son!” He whipped around the piano and appeared behind his son, the father’s  
hands on his son’s shoulders. “With this, you can take all of Manhattan as yours! Soon, the whole world. You will become the next--”

The boy chuckled and relaxed into his familiar hold, interrupting his father's tirade before it began. “I am very pleased, too.”

When he first began staying with his father, his odd tendencies had startled him. His father’s need to touch people he felt close with, for instance taking Gustave’s hand or patting him on the back or  
grabbing his shoulders had alarmed him at first. The way everything was about conquering and winning to him, as if he could only be satisfied if it was assured he or his kin would come out on top. But,  
he had gotten used to it, just as he had gotten used to his father’s horrible face.

There was a moment of silence as his father seemed to want to say something else. Gustave waited patiently. The man smiled down at him, then slowly, his voice catching at first, he said, “Your mother  
would be proud.”

The first thing that hit him was sadness. He smiled regretfully. “I dreamed she would be. I only want to please her.” Gustave’s smile turned genuine as he said, “I really do. If I can make her spirit happy…  
then I am happy.”

His father smiled and released his shoulders. “I know she is happy. Whatever you do with your life, she will be happy and proud of you.”

Gustave smiled up at his father and said, “Thank you.” He stood slowly from the piano bench and walked around the piano. There was a silence now. It was growing awkward. Gustave decided to change  
the subject. “So do you have any plans, father, or do you think you could help me practice my part?” he smiled up at the Phantom hopefully. He enjoyed spending time with his father. They were very  
similar in interests and personalities, surprisingly.

“Actually, I cannot. Squelch, Fleck and Gangle were going to have a meeting with me soon. I’m thinking of expanding the carnival to the boardwalk. If I decide to do so, I will be placing them in charge of  
the project.” He smiled sadly.

Neither Gustave nor his father liked the boardwalk very much. He understood why he was putting the three in charge of any expansions there.

“I understand father. Will you have time after your meeting?” He asked hopefully. His father was the one that taught him to control his voice. He had taught him nearly everything he knew about singing.  
He had taught Gustave just as he had taught his mother.

After he had finished speaking, the mirror/door above opened. The man immediately reached for the mask, and Gustave placed his hand on it. “It’s probably just the three.” He said.

The Phantom frowned at him and snatched the mask from beneath his hand, placing it back on his face.

Gustave rolled his eyes and he heard the three, speaking to each other as they descended the stairs.

“Yes. Come meet me here in a couple of hours and I will have time to rehearse your part with you.” His father said, looking at him through the eye hole of the mask.

Gustave smiled and bowed. “Thank you, sir.” He turned and went up the stairs, nodding at the three as they passed him. They gave him exaggerated bows and he smiled. They had always been kind to  
him, since day one. He genuinely liked them, having gotten to know them over the years, they practically helped raise him.

Just as he reached the top of the stairs, hand out to catch the door, it closed. Silly automatic closer, it was not the first time it had closed just as Gustave was leaving or entering.

He was on the top three stairs, raising his hand the button on the inside of the door/mirror to reopen is, but he heard the voices waft up to him through the dim stairwell.

“What was the boy doing here, sir?” Gangle asked, voice curious.

“He was here informing me he got the part he had auditioned for.” The phantom responded, voice strangely unenthused. It didn’t sound like it had a minute ago when he was congratulating Gustave. That  
was what had made him pause with his hand on the back of the mirror/door, hesitating, before deciding to stay to eavesdrop.

“I thought that was already a certain outcome though? Didn’t you pay the talent manager?” Fleck’s voice sounded up the stairwell. There was a quick clamor of noise with no response from the Phantom.

A moment later, Squelch said, voice almost defensive “I heard the door close, sir, he is gone.”

Gustave stayed yet. He wanted to hear the rest. His father bribed someone? Why? It had something to do with him, with his audition? His heart thumped loudly in his chest. He didn’t feel right. This is  
exactly what he was trying to avoid.

He breathed quietly and stood against the door, listening to the voices below.

“Yes, I bribed the talent manager of the opera house.” The phantom responded. Gustave’s eyes widened. Why….

“Why did you sir?” Gangle asked, as if speaking Gustave’s mind himself.

“Did you think he couldn’t do it?” Fleck asked, the more sensitive one of the group.

“Of course not. I thought he would get a part. Of that there was no doubt. The amazing voice he has and training he has gotten, there is no way he would not have gotten a part. But people do not hire  
unknown voices as leads. He has to have a name for himself. And he was set on the part of Eochaidh. I just wanted him to get what he wanted. He deserves it.” The phantom defended.

“So you bribed the talent manager to get Gustave the part of Eochaidh?” Squelch asked, sounding almost horrified.

“Yes. I wanted him to get a large role. And he did.” It was then that the irritation was obvious in the man's voice. “That is the end of this conversation. On to the boardwalk topic. Have you scouted the area  
as I have asked? Is there enough room to build?” The phantom asked.

Gustave had heard it all. He slowly and quietly opened the mirror/door, slipped out, and closed it behind himself. There was a chance that his father heard the mirror/door close, he had acute hearing. But  
Gustave didn’t care if he heard at this point.

He hurried through the crowds of people and the workers and customers and well-wishers and people saying hello to him. In the past years he had become the face for Phantasma. As his father stayed  
hidden away in the cellars, someone had to take face. Especially since Madame Giry had disappeared. Gustave had led and performed in shows. He opened any new exhibits or shows or expansions. He  
was the head of hiring and relations with the workers.

He was normally very sociable and stopped and talked with people and got to know names and faces and stories. But he had too much on his mind. He ignored many as he passed and eventually people  
stopped calling out to him. His face said enough.

A bribe? His father had bribed the man? So that was why they had decided immediately. That was why he did not need a call back and how he had managed to get a lead. Him, an unknown voice. An  
unheard of talent, the opening star of a major performance.

He had finally reached where his own room was. He walked down the dim hall and found his painting. It was a life-size portrait of some woman he had never met or even asked about. He didn’t know who  
it was. He assumed it was just a random painting his father had gotten when he bulk bought random items. When he was 10 and first decided to stay with his father, he was allowed to choose any room in  
the entire place.

He first checked for places not too far from his father's’ own lair, and eventually found this hidden painting room. He liked it. It was large and dim but still managed to feel claustrophobic. It was the lack  
of windows. He pulled the painting aside and flipped the lock to the correct number on the door behind the painting. The door clicked.

He pulled the door open and closed the painting and door behind himself. He walked down the short hall and entered his room. He looked around, seeing the strange dolls and circus artifacts that littered  
his room. Many were gifts from performers, but some even gifts from admirers and fans he had gained while singing in larger shows.

He saw the different circus clothes that he wore when he was in shows were draping over the chair by the desk, and thrown over the wardrobe door and crumpled in a pile on the floor. The rest of his  
normal clothes were hanging neatly in his wardrobe beside the bed.

He made his way through the clutter to the large silky bed which he flopped on. His dark hair fell around his head in a mess. He let his eyes close. The anger had seeped out of him and now he was just  
hurt.

His father had bribed the man? He didn’t believe in him. He didn’t believe that he could get the part—he probably didn’t believe that he could get any part in the opera! At the very least, he didn’t think he  
could have gotten it on his own. A fool. He was a fool. Of course his father would have a hand in bringing him to greatness. Of course he would. Why did he think he could even escape his father’s air? If  
he even wanted to, he would probably have to leave the country!

He simply didn’t want to believe that his father had gone behind his back like that, but of course he had. His father had no faith in him.

He didn’t question his own talent, he knew he could sing. Of course, he couldn’t nearly sing as well as his father or play the piano as well as he could. That would take years more of practice. If he ever  
became as good as his father. As his father said though, with focus, he would be able to far surpass him someday. But of course he wasn’t as good as his father! Not yet. That didn’t mean he wasn’t good  
though!

He exhaled heavily again. His eyes opened. No. He was mad. Not sad, he was very mad, angry. He stood up and stomped about the room.

What a jerk! He father was rude and condescending and mean and unsympathetic to go behind his back like this! He should have known he would have been fine with being accepted into the cast! He  
didn’t need to be the lead! His heart wasn’t set on anything, it was simply his father’s own expectations that he needed to be the very best.

He stomped over to his desk and stared in the mirror. Why? Why did he not think I could do it? Gustave thought.

He frowned and his gaze fell to the scattered things on the desk. There were a couple of old toys but mainly it was covered in papers and writing utensils.

His eyes roamed over an open letter that he had yet to respond to. It was a letter from the Viscount Raoul De Changne, whom he still kept in contact with. Well, of course he kept in contact with him. He  
had raised Gustave and Gustave had thought he was his father for the first 10 years of his life. His eyes scanned the letter. It ended with the same closing it always did.

 

“Come and visit us anytime, Gustave.

Love,

Viscount Raoul and Adeline and Jean de Chagne”

 

Gustave set the letter down slowly. Come and visit us anytime. Could… Could he really? He frowned. They must be sincere. They said it every letter. Could he really go and visit them? A sudden trip to  
Paris?

Maybe… maybe he could go and stay with the Viscount and his family and actually escape his father’s reach! Maybe he could audition for an opera there and see how good he really was without his  
father’s help.

Suddenly this idea of a sudden trip to Paris sounded great to Gustave. He grabbed a pen and paper and began writing a response to the Viscount.

After a moment he crumpled the letter and tossed it in the trash can.

No! he wanted to leave as soon as possible! If he asked by letter, he would not get a response for a couple of months. He wrote out a short message, only 7 words. ‘Taking first boat tomorrow to France.  
Gustave.’

He stuffed the letter in his pocket and left his room. He thought to himself where the nearest relay station was. There was one in the main carnival office he could use.

Gustave walked through the carnival, it would be a ten minute walk and there was a chance his father would find very quickly, but he enjoyed the fresh air and the exercise. He tried to use the opportunity  
to clear his head and ignore thinking about how betrayed he felt by his father.

After a while, he had gotten to the relay station. He payed for his message to be sent, he told them Raoul’s address and the name and location of the person the telegram should be sent to. He thanked  
the worker for his time and gave him a nice tip and the paper with the message on it.

Gustave slowly left the building and sighed. Raoul and his father had called a truce after his mother’s death. It never stopped them from being suspicious of each other, though. They decided to not put  
the pressure on Gustave that they had put on Christine to choose. Gustave had chosen his father because he knew Raoul would be able to move on and find a new family. He knew… the phantom, his  
father, would not be able to. He was the one that needed Gustave. And so Gustave choose him.

Why was he really doing this? Was he running away? Trying to escape his father? No, he loved him. He really, honestly just wanted to get away, right now, for the sake of his father’s overprotectiveness and  
his own sanity. This was something he needed.

He thanked the man and left, walking back to the carnival.

This time as he passed through the crowds of people and workers, they were shouting congratulations at him for receiving the part in the opera. He thanked them as he walked through.

Squelch, Gangle and Fleck must have gotten done with their meeting and told the whole carnival that Gustave had gotten the part. He assumed that they didn’t tell everyone that his father had bribed  
them.

He made his way back to his room and flopped down on his bed. He was tired, but he wanted to start packing.

He stood back up and pulled an ancient suitcase out of the top of the wardrobe. He put a couple of outfits in it. He couldn’t think of much else to bring. He would repurchase everything he needed such as  
personals or more outfits once he arrived in Paris. He only really needed stuff for the boat ride.

After a moment of thinking about it, he picked up the picture frame of his mother off the dresser and set it inside the suitcase on top of the folded clothes.

There was a knock on the door, he spun to look. The door wasn’t open, but not even the three knew where his room was. It had to be his father.

He closed the suitcase and shoved it under the bed. He ran to the door and pulled it open.

“Father.” He said, stepping aside to allow him in.

He walked with his father back into his room. He offered the chair by his desk and his father took a seat as he sat down himself on the piano bench next to the desk.

“You never showed up to practice his part.” His father said. He gently took his mask off and set it on Gustave’s desk. He knew his son did not like talking to him wearing the mask.

“I’m sorry… I had other things on my mind.” Gustave muttered.

“Like what?” His father asked, leaning back in his chair.

“Nothing. I’m just worried about my part in the opera.” He lied.

The phantom’s eyes roamed the room and fell on the suitcase that was tucked under the bed. The bed skirt had rolled into the suitcase, making it perfectly visible.

“What are you packing for?” He asked casually, his gaze falling on his son.

Gustave sighed and stood up. “I am packing for Paris.”

His father’s eyes followed him as he circled around the room in frustration, but his father didn’t say a word.

“I am going to Paris to stay with the Viscount. I… I overheard you speaking to the three. I heard that you bribed the opera director. I did not want a part off of money! I would have been fine with a  
background part! Even my mother started in the back. She didn’t just walk in and get a lead.

“I should have known something was fishy. I just… I wanted to do this on my own. If I wanted your help, I would have ethier asked for it or just kept performing in your concert halls! The reason I went  
elsewhere, to somewhere not controlled by you, is because I wanted to do something on my own! But apparently I couldn’t!

“I just want to get something on my own. So I decided to go to Paris. I contacted the Viscount and he said I can stay with him. I am packing to go to Paris with the next ship. I want to go there, to where my  
mother began her career, and try to get big there, just like her.

“I am going to make her proud. Really proud. I can do it without your help and I can do it myself!”

Gustave had worked himself into a rage, but he stopped suddenly, turning to his father.

He was still sitting in the chair, looking at Gustave, watching him.

“I didn’t know you felt that way… I suppose if I had I wouldn’t have bribed the man.” He said. He stood slowly. “I am sorry.” He apologized.

Gustave waved him off. “Forget it… I just need to get out on my own.”

“Are… are you sure you aren’t running from me?” His father asked.

Gustave looked up sharply at him. “Why would I be running from you?” he asked.

“Because people seem to run from me. Often.” He said, reaching for his mask. He settled it on his face and headed for the door. “Do what you want. If you don’t have enough in your bank account I can  
give you anything you need.” He said.

“No. I want to do this on my own.” Gustave frowned. Of course, using his bank account money at all was using his father’s money. But… he didn’t have a choice. It was the only money he had.

The door shut with a loud sound. He heard the picture frame hit the back of the door and he cringed. He had defiantly upset his father. He sighed and got himself ready for bed.

Of course, he knew his father would be upset. But… he would stay in contact. And he hoped to not be gone too long. Not even a full year.

Gustave went to bed with dreams of what the newly awaiting Paris, France would bring him.


	2. Part 2

Part 2:

 

Gustave looked off the stern of the ship. He smelled the fresh salty air of the ocean. But now other scents were mingled in. He could tell they were coming in to port soon. He was not a sailor, but he could   
tell things he had learned from the times he had been on ships. 

He had been on ships, on these trips from America to Paris many times now. They had brought his mother’s body back and buried her in Paris. And he had visited Raoul a few times. So he had had his fair   
share of boat rides in a few years.

This time he had gotten a much smaller room because it was the first time he had traveled alone. He slept a lot and only got sick once. 

There, he saw it. The land, far off in the distance. He checked his watch. They had luckily never ran into problems. They were right on time. He knew somewhere on that shore, the Viscount was waiting.

A long while later, Gustave disembarked from the ship alone. His mind flashed to the time he had gotten off a ship with his mother and fath—Raoul. He had gotten off a ship with his mother and Raoul.

It had been a long journey; he was only 10 at the time. But he understood time better now. 

He looked around the port. He didn’t see Raoul anywhere, but he saw an actual automobile. He assumed that that was the Viscount.

He made his way to the automobile and Raoul got out. He had a smile on his face and he was growing stuble. He was wearing a very nice brown suit and he pulled Gustave in for a hug.

“Gustave! You’ve grown so much! I believe the last time I saw you you were this high and only 14!” he laughed and smiled, holding a hand up to his waist.

Gustave smiled back and said, “It’s good to see you!” 

Raoul got back into the car in the back seat and Gustave followed, putting his suitcase in his lap. The driver got out and went around and closed the door, then got back in. he turned around to face Raoul.

“Back home, now then.” Raoul smiled at the man. He nodded and began driving. 

“So how have you been?” Raoul asked him, smiling.

He looked well. His cheeks were pink and despite he was probably in his late thirty’s or forty’s now, he still looked like a young man. 

His suit was clean and his top hat tall. Gustave’s own top hat wasn’t as flamboyant as Raoul’s, his being quite short and blue to match his suit. As soon as he had gotten on the ship, he has switched back   
to French, as most of the people aboard were French and returning home. 

He didn’t realize how rusty he had gotten until he held a conversation with a fellow passenger. Raoul automatically spoke French with him.

“Thank you, I have been well. Yourself? How is your family?” he asked curiously, keeping conversation.

“We’ve been great! Actually… Adeline is pregnant again!” Raoul said. Obviously he had been waiting to tell Gustave until he saw him in person.

“Really? That’s amazing! Congratulations!” he shook Raoul’s hand happily.

After Raoul had moved back to Paris, he had stopped drinking. He stopped gambling too and he started attempting to get his fortune back. He said that’s how Christine would have wanted him to live.

A couple years after, he met Adeline and they were married. She had a child soon after and Gustave had visited at that point. She was a nice, petit, fair woman. Unlike his mother, she was blonde and pail.   
She was not a singer. She was very beautiful and nice, he could see the personality similarities between her and his mother. Raoul definitely had a type.

“How is Adeline and Jean?” Gustave asked. 

The rest of the ride was spent in small talk and they soon arrived at the Viscounts.

The driver got out and opened the door, allowing Raoul and Gustave out. After giving the driver a very fair tip, Raoul led the way up to the huge mansion that Gustave had once called his own.

He opened the front door, stepping aside to let Gustave in first.

Gustave entered, a lot had changed. Adeline and Jean were waiting for them by the door.

“Welcome back!” they said together. Jean stepped forward and said to Gustave, “May I take your hat?”

Gustave smiled and nodded, taking his top hat off and handing it to the boy. “Thank you.” He said.

The boy smiled and nodded, going over to place the hat on the hat rack in the entrance. Raoul placed his own hat on the rack and went over to give Adeline a kiss on the cheek.

“It has been so long!” she smiled at Gustave and pulled him in for a hug.

He gingerly hugged her back. She was a strange but nice woman. Here he was, the son of her husband’s ex-wife and she was hugging him and letting him stay in their house free of charge. His mother   
would have done the same.

He smiled and kissed her on both cheeks. “Same to you, Adeline. How have you been?”

Their small talk lasted for a while. Eventually Jean asked if he could help Gustave with his things to his old room. Raoul suggested Gustave take a nap because he was probably tired.

Gustave nodded and Adeline offered to bring some tea to his room.

Jean helped him carry his bag to his room. Despite the boy only being 4 years old, he was happy and nice and sweet. Gustave liked him immediately, he hadn’t seen him since he was a baby. 

Jean was polite and Gustave could see how his mother had had a hand in raising him. 

“May I help you unpack?” He asked sweetly.

“No thank you. I believe I want to lay down now. Perhaps when I wake up I can read you a book.” He suggested.

Jean nodded enthusiastically and left the room, bowing.

Gustave opened his bag and pulled out a pair of pajamas. He folded the clothes he had been wearing and placed them in the suitcase. He then gently picked up the picture of his mother and set it on the   
night stand next to the bed. 

There was a knock at the door. 

He went and opened it. It was Adeline carrying a tea set with two cups next to the pot and sugar. “Would you mind if I joined you?” she asked sweetly.

“Not at all.” Gustave went to the small table on the side of the room and pulled out a chair for Adeline to sit.

She set the tea set on the table and poured both glasses of tea. She dropped two sugar cubes in her own. “Sugar?” she asked. 

“Just one.” Gustave nodded with a smile as she placed one in his glass and passed it to him. 

He took it and blew on it for a second before taking a sip. It was good tea, he didn’t have much like it at home.

Adeline stayed for a while, asking him about his journey and how his father had been. He noticed her gaze wander to the picture frame of his mother. 

“He still thinks about her every day, you know.” Adeline said with a sad smile.

Gustave hesitated, “Does… does that not bother you?” he asked. He was surprised that she didn’t hate his mother for still occupying that part of Raoul’s mind.

She smiled at him and said genuinely, “Of course it doesn’t. I understand your mother’s history with him. They were childhood sweethearts. Finding each other again as they did is nothing short of a   
miracle. And then they were married and had and raised you. Any man would be attached to that woman for the rest of her life. I know I cannot fill that hole in his heart. Your mother’s death… it was a   
tragedy. A horrible tragedy. Nothing can replace the grief that caused. Of course, I can try. Jean can try. But I know, you and your mother will always be in his heart.”

Gustave didn’t know what to say. He took a sip of his tea. 

“He’s very happy to see you. He misses you.” She smiled at Gustave.

“I miss him too. And you. And Jean, he has grown! Raoul said that you are carrying again?” he asked gently.

“Oh, yes! 4 months.” She smiled and one of her hands moved to stroke her belly.

“That’s great! I am so happy for you and your family.” Gustave said genuinely. And he was. He hoped their family got a chance to expand. Raoul had really turned his life around and become a good man.   
Adeline deserved the biggest, happiest family in the world.

In a way, he felt bad. Bad that him and his mother had hurt Adeline and Raoul in the way they clearly had. Raoul would never have had this hole in his heart that Adeline had spoken of if his mother hadn’t   
agreed to marry him. His mother should have just stayed with his father… then the nice viscount would have found Adeline from the beginning, and they would have had the happiest family in all of Paris. 

But of course… they had left marks. There was marks on everyone. Raoul, Adeline, his father, and himself of course. His mother’s death had hurt everyone.

Gustave yawned inadvertently. “I am sorry.” He apologized, it was impolite to yawn in a lady’s company.

She waved it off. “It is alright. I should let you get some rest. I will see you tomorrow, Gustave! Have a good rest.” She took the tea tray away and curtsied as she left the room. Gustave turned the lamp on   
low and pulled the shades and settled in his old bed.

It was nice of the Viscount to keep his room the way he had left it. There was still some of his old toys sitting in the room, things he remembered from his childhood.

He slowly fell asleep, wondering what he was going to do the next day.

 

 

His father took another sip of the brandy. Gustave did the same.

“It’s my fault.” He said suddenly. 

They had been drinking together in companionable silence.

“What is?” Gustave asked.

“Christine’s death. It’s my fault. I should have never called her to Coney Island in the first place. I should have let her live her life out happily with you and the Viscount. It would have been better.”

“Don’t say that, father. She… she wasn’t even happy with him. I know that now.” 

“Well I’m sure that she would have rather had a slightly unhappy life than no life at all!” he suddenly slammed his fist to the table.

“Father…” Gustave placed his hand on his father’s arm. “Don’t say that. It’s my fault. I should never have gone with Miss Giry. I should have pulled my arm from her grip and ran. I never even got to hear   
her sing Love Never Dies. It’s my fault, not yours.” He stared at the ground, and felt tears in his eyes.

“Gustave! Don’t say that. You were 10. There was no way that any of that was your fault. I was the one that tried to get the gun from Meg. I should have pointed it at the ground or myself. There was no   
way that I should have allowed it to be pointed at her.” The phantom said.

“Would you change it if you could go back? Would you allow Miss Giry to kill herself?” Gustave asked quietly.

His father took another drink and slowly shook his head. “No. I would not have. Not that she was less or even more important than Christine. But she was a human. Christine would not have wanted that.   
She would have rather died. I know it. I am done with... with murdering people.” His father scoffed. "But. I would much rather she had killed me. Christine... She absolute perfection. Nothing, no, nothing   
could compare to her ethereal beauty and her heavenly voice..." Of course, thinking about the aforementioned things led him to despair more. His head fell into his hands and he shook with quiet sobs.

Gustave wasn't entirely sure what to do with his father like this. He sat there in silence for a long minute and slowly began to sing. His voice had grown to have a lovely, lilting tone that flowed well. He was   
a countertenor at the best of times but wavered between baritone and tenor. He could sing some bass songs, but having always sung higher range songs for shows growing up, he was much more   
comfortable as a tenor or baritone. He slowly sang a song that his mother would sing to him when he felt down, that of course he still remembered after all these years.

Slowly his father lifted his head and gazed through wet eyes at Gustave. "Of course... she lives on in you." He said quietly. "She's not completely gone... A part of her is still here. And I will not be alone   
again. Ever." He said. He then pulled Gustave into a tight hug, holding his son close to him in his arms.


	3. Part 3

Part 3:

Gustave awoke with a start. He bolted up. He needed to see his father- he--

He saw the light coming in through the window. He was not at home in his hidden, dark room he was... he was at the Viscount de Chagny’s house, with his family. In Paris.

He sighed, standing up. This was an awful way to start the day. He pulled clothes on and went to the window, pulling back the shades to let the sun come in and light his room. 

It was his third day in Paris. Today the opera house would be taking auditions for their newest production, The Nightingale. He would of course be auditioning as the fisherman, the narrator of the opera. It  
was just his luck that the part happened to be a tenor as well. 

When he finally had finished getting ready for the day, he went downstairs and greeted Raoul and Adeline. Jean was already upstairs with his private tutor. Adeline was working on a needle-work project and  
Raoul was doing paperwork. Gustave announced he would be going out to audition. Raoul and Adeline kindly wished him luck and he thanked them.

He left their home, his childhood home,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not NEARLY finished with this part or this fiction. It is IN PROGRESS, so please check back for updates- hopefully happening soon! (This is being said as of 5/27/2017). I just wanted to post what I have currently and update it when I write more. I am aiming for this fiction to be at least 20 parts long. The summary that I have written out is about 7 pages long, and each page will hopefully turn into 10k words when actually typed out.
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience, it is much appreciated!! 
> 
> Please feel free to comment or message me in the meantime with any questions or comments you may have about the fiction or the characters!!

**Author's Note:**

> I am still rereading this and editing it. I just wanted to get this posted at some point and it looks like I'm finally doing it. This hopefully will be the push that I need to continue writing it (I started it literally 4 years ago). So please ignore any plot holes or spelling errors in the meantime, they will be corrected later. Feel free to comment and let me know of anything that doesn't make sense or should be changed in the meantime though! Thank you so much for reading this.


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